Elemental: War of Magic Preview

One more hands-on preview of Stardock’s Elemental: War of Magic has trickled onto the Internet, and this time it comes to us via 1UP.  A few promising paragraphs:

So in a way, Elemental turns Dungeons & Dragons on its head just as much as Dungeon Keeper. But whereas you play as an evil overlord in that Bullfrog classic, you’re the sovereign here — the one responsible for hiring the adventurers in the first place. Think of it as looking at different sides of a twenty-sided die.

Even playing as the sovereign though, there’s as much roleplaying as there is city-building and strategy. We spend some time customizing a character that looks reasonably like me, choosing from professions that include Adventurer, Bard and Assassin. Then we’re on the map, with a Merchant waiting nearby.

This is where the strategy element starts to come in. By recruiting these characters, we can start amassing some cash with which to outfit my armies. And after erecting my walls, we have some territory to work with, which gives my sovereign a defense bonus.

From here, it’s time for me to roll up my sleeves and get into the nitty gritty of the strategy; namely, tech trees and army building. Stardock games are famous for their expansive research, and Elemental is no different. It’s possible to jump in and research Civilization, Warfare, Magic, Adventure and Diplomacy. Some of the breakthroughs are randomized, with green, yellow and red techs signifying rarity. Needless to say, red breakthroughs are a very good thing to have.